'The life of an Iraqi is worth no less than that of an American'

Friday 7 November 2008 19.01 EST
First published on Friday 7 November 2008 19.01 EST

Barack Obama's election is to be welcomed for several reasons. Yet we must not be lulled into complacency by naive estimates of what lies ahead.

The eight years of George Bush's presidency have accustomed us to errors, lies and manipulation. Since September 2001, the Bush regime has been obsessed by "war on terror" and the "axis of evil". Over time, Americans have awakened to the emptiness of these bellicose and arrogant slogans.

Obama's roots and his multiple cultural identities could not be of a greater contrast to that of his predecessor. His understanding of the countries of the world, particularly of the global south, point to a different future. Taken together, his life and experience make hope for a new understanding of domestic and international issues possible. Obama should become the symbol of a new United States, promoting domestic policies that favour justice and equality, improve urban life, broaden opportunity, and empower citizens of all origins. The first black president's greatest achievement would be to cause people to forget his colour, and to implement more equitable social policies.

But while it now appears that the US can live with the election of an African-American, indications are that a new, virulent anti-Muslim racism has arisen in the wake of the events of September 2001. On the international stage, Obama should be able to lay to rest the deafness of the outgoing administration, which spared no effort to persuade Americans that they were "the victims" of "aggressors" who hated their civilisation. Above and beyond the condemnation of terrorist acts, which must be unconditional, the criticisms and grievances of the entire world must now be heard.

The policies of the Bush administration have produced a worldwide rejection of the US. The new president must begin with symbolic actions to demonstrate that the life of an Afghan, an Iraqi or a Muslim is worth no less than that of an American. The time has come to put an end to the language of bullying and intimidation; to close the dungeons of Guantánamo and other such prisons. Obama can no longer justify, in the name of American national security, the deaths of the innocent, legalised torture, extraordinary rendition and other discriminatory measures.

Yet his campaign has made it clear that we must entertain no illusions, or succumb to irrational hope. Change may be significant in certain areas; in others, it is bound to be limited. The Palestine-Israel conflict is central to world peace, but Obama has taken such an outspoken pro-Israel stance that significant change on this issue is extremely unlikely. Nor is much to be expected in questioning neoliberalism while dealing with the international economic crisis.

There can be little doubt that some positive change can be expected. Any such change should be welcomed; at the same time, our critical vigilance must not be relaxed, especially with regard to the sacrosanct dogmas of a political and economic establishment that cannot bring itself to acknowledge the dignity of the Palestinian people (and more globally the Africans and the Arabs), or the devastation wrought by an economic order that has plunged millions of American families into debt, and cast thousands more into the street.

Muslims in the US and around the world are mainly satisfied: they hope to see the end to the politics of fear, mistrust and polarisation of the Bush administration. Still, they have their share of responsibility: to get rid of the victim mentality, to be more consistent with their own values, to get out of their intellectual ghettos and to actively belong to this "we" that has committed itself to reform, while repeating: "Yes, we can."